Extreme Jigging: Dogtooth Tuna, Yellowtail Kingfish (Hiramasa), Amberjack, Samson Fish > Tackle & Techniques

Questions concerning Jigging rods

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Russ Roberts:
Folks,

As a newcomer to this board, I am hesitant to post the following questions for one reason: I do not fish for GT.  However, I chose much of my tackle for fishing in the Gulf of Mexico from the lighter GT equipment, just to build in a little bit of overkill.  (Also, I just love beautifully made equipment).  I am well-stocked with popping gear (Souls 90HH, Smith 80P/35, Calstar 700H and Calstar 700XH plus 3 Stellas and a Twinspin SR-30.) 

My questions have to do with jigging gear which I am now laying in.  I will be jigging primarily for Amberjack, Grouper, and Yellow fin tuna up to maybe 150 pounds (we have trouble getting past the Black fin in this area.)  Nothing horribly scary like the stuff you folks have down under.

I have a Smith Nirai on the way to match with the Twinspin 30 for my heavy jigging rig.  I want to purchase one other rod to go with say, a Twinspin 20 or 12 or a Stella 8,000:

First: For those of you familiar with the Nirai, it is rated up to 500 gram jigs.  What would be the lightest jig I could expect to work effectively with it?

Second: For those of you who have some experience with the Calstars, is there any way I could justify using one of those for a jigging rod for jigs between 150 grams and say, 250?

Finally: If the answer to my second question is negative, what would be a good rod to choose for that weight range?

I appreciate your help and if questions on these species are inappropriate to the board, please don't hesitate to set me straight.  Best wishes from Texas.

Russ

Neil Griffiths:
G'day Russ

Nirai will work jigs down to 200g no problems, under this and you will lose feel for the jig. As always a rod suited to 150g jigs will generally catch more fish as jig action with appropriate rod will attract better numbers of fish.

Marcus Lee:
Hi Russ,

Souls 90HH, very nice rod, costs an arm and a leg though! Would appreciate some end user feedback on the SOULs.

Thanks!

Marcus

Russ Roberts:
Thanks, Neil.  I may try to get away with the Calstar 700H (full 7-foot--not chopped down) for a while on the lighter jigs.  The Nirai gets here tomorrow and I'm taking it out into the Gulf of Mexico on a 52 hour trip on Saturday.  The problem we have jigging for yellowfin, I am told by my betters, is that the black fin won't let the jig get down to them, so I am hoping to use much larger jigs and hope the smaller fish will ignore them.

Marcus: I just got the rod and have cast with it some in practice.  I think my user report is going to be highly favorable, however, I have to qualify whatever I say in three regards: First, although I have been fishing in our bays here in South Texas for over 50 years, my offshore experience has been limited and that was mostly bottom fishing.  Second, we have very little in our area that would approach the vile, vicious creatures you folks catch all over the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  If I get into a 50 KG yellowfin during the remainder of my lifetime, I will consider myself lucky.  Finally, and most important, I have not yet developed my casting ability with the Souls rod adequately to give a good report on its casting capabilities.  I will say it is by far the best popping rod I have every used, but that could well be due to its length.  I can get approximately 65 meters with it using a 100 gram casting spoon.  But I have absolutely no doubt that a more accomplished caster could get at least 100 meters.  The rod has a fairly soft tip and a monster backbone and can cast 50 gram lures quite well, I think.  I had a choice between the 90HH (rated to 120 grams) and the 90H (rated to 100 grams).  I chose the heavier but am wondering if I made the right choice--for me that is.  The Souls web site makes it clear, even through the horrible machine translation, that this is not a rod for beginners.  Rather they encourage the beginner to buy the lighter rod.  I have seen a video of this lighter version in action, allegedly subduing a 60 KG yellowfin in under 10 minutes, in which the rod looks extremely parabolic--kind of like a rainbow.



I also own the Smith 80P/35, and this is a sweet beginners rod (intended for GT beginners, I think, but great for me as well.)

Best regards to all,

Russ

Greg Burt:
Interesting video Russ, the rod was like a whip. The dog must have been the captain, always there and barking instructions! ::)
 Now some questions from me, is your Calstar 700H a spin or overhead, have you you used it much for casting or jigging and how was it ?, mine is still a virgin as far as captures but have been practice casting to 75m and also want to try it out jigging on light jigs. :-\
 Thanks mate
  Greg
 

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